Luckily the contraption we made around the pump was good but the chemistry doesn't seem to be doing to well. Felipe is floating to the top and immediately swimming straight down to the bottom. Juan Carlos is doing well but out of safety concerns we decided to being them both up to the 301's aquaponics system. Felipe didn't make it on they way up :( (3/23/14)
We introduced 2 new fish to our system!! Welcome Felipe and Juan Carlos!! (3/22/14)
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Felipe, cruising in the tank
We created a contraption with a net for baby fish and a plant holder so that the pump won't be too powerful for the next fish! (3/21/14)
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Our pump was too powerful for Pablo and he unfortunately died trying to fight the current. :( (3/20/14)
Now that we have plants and the chemistry seems to be turning out good, we decided to put our first goldfish into the system. (3/19/14)
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Welcome to our system Pablo!
We bought some herbs to put in the system to go along with the plants we have been growing on our own. (3/4/14)
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Our plants grew about a half of an inch and the nitrates started going up! We decided it was time to put in our cilantro. We first took the dirt and plants our of the pot and got as much dirt off as we could. We then started separating the individual plants and rinsing the roots to get off any excess dirt. After that, we put 1-2 of our seedlings in a container with the hydroton and then placed them in our plant holder! (2/12/14)
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Cleaning and sparating the little seedlings!!
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Our cilantro seedlings in the hydroton!
We started germinating thyme and cilantro seeds in soils which we will eventually transfer to the hydroton plant cups which will then go into the styrofoam holder. (2/4/14)
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Our plants on the windowsill in the 4th floor green house
After about 2 weeks of adding ammonia and testing the water we are finally seeing nitrites and nitrates! (2/4/14)
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After getting our styrofoam to the size and shape we wanted, we ironed it (with a piece of parchment paper between the iron and styrofoam so it wouldn't burn) because it was flaking. The iron slightly melted the styrofoam making a thin coat around it so it wouldn't flake off. (1/31/14)
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Not the most pleasent smell in the world!
We sawed the styrofoam in half because it was too thick causing the plant holders to be to far to reach the water. (1/28/14)
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Not the most pleasent sound in the world!
We started making a holder that our plants will eventually sit in. We first carved holes into a block of styrofoam to hold the containers that will hold our plants! (1/22/14)
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After fixing a leak, we started adding in ammonia and nitrifying bacteria to change the ammonia to nitrates and nitrates. Each day we test the water to observe our pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. (1/17/14)
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Matching the color to record the amount
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We taped this to the outside of the water testing kit just in case we need a reminder of how many drops of each solution we need!
Once everything was cleaned again we got the system back to normal! (1/13/14)
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Our system after everything was cleaned again
After our system was up and running the water started getting really murky. We came to the conclusion that the hydroton was not cleaned enough so we spent a whole class period cleaning it along with all the bins and the pebbles in the fish tank! (1/9/14)
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The clean hydroton!
Watch this video of our up and running aquaponics system! (12/18/13)
After setting up our elbow and pipe for the plant bin and rinsing the hydroton for 30 minutes, we were finally ready to add the water! (12/18/13)
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Mac adding the water to our plant bin
We started decorating our system in preparation for the holidays! (12/13/13)
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We also added a pipe with an elbow to our bin which will eventually hold the hydroton! (12/13/13)
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During Thanksgiving week, we kept preparing the materials with the few days that we had. We hung up our light and cleaned old sealant off of out piping.
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After we got into our teams in F-Block, we started taking inventory, dividing up materials, cleaning what we had, and making plans to get what we needed. By Friday, all of the bins and tubing we planned to use was clean!
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F-Block:
What is "aquaponics"?
Aquaponics is the method of growing crops and fish in a circular system.
It uses 10% of water than a conventional growing system (a.k.a. soil garden)
There is no weeding or digging needed at all!
It can produce fish and plants all year round (regardless of climate!)
Cycle of chemistry in an aquaponisc system:
Fish poop ammonia (NH3), nitrifying bacteria turn the ammonia into nitrite (NO2-), nitrobacter turn the nitrites into nitrate (NO3-), and the plants absorb the nitrate as food.
How to test the water in an aquaponics system:
The water levels have to be right in the system for the fish and plants to prosper. Here is how to test the system for pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels:
Our short term goals:
Everyone research types of food to grow, chem/bio involved, and types of fish
Talk to 301s working on AquaP
Take inventory
Divide materials with A Block
Clean/prep materials
Decide on roles
Our long term goals:
Grow a herb garden (basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, mint)
Bring aquaP to struggling areas
Bring aquaP to Tiger’s Loft
Power the system with only solar power
More information about Aquaponics water testing and setup: here
Luckily the contraption we made around the pump was good but the chemistry doesn't seem to be doing to well. Felipe is floating to the top and immediately swimming straight down to the bottom. Juan Carlos is doing well but out of safety concerns we decided to being them both up to the 301's aquaponics system. Felipe didn't make it on they way up :( (3/23/14)
We introduced 2 new fish to our system!! Welcome Felipe and Juan Carlos!! (3/22/14)
We created a contraption with a net for baby fish and a plant holder so that the pump won't be too powerful for the next fish! (3/21/14)
Our pump was too powerful for Pablo and he unfortunately died trying to fight the current. :( (3/20/14)
Now that we have plants and the chemistry seems to be turning out good, we decided to put our first goldfish into the system. (3/19/14)
We bought some herbs to put in the system to go along with the plants we have been growing on our own. (3/4/14)
Our plants grew about a half of an inch and the nitrates started going up! We decided it was time to put in our cilantro. We first took the dirt and plants our of the pot and got as much dirt off as we could. We then started separating the individual plants and rinsing the roots to get off any excess dirt. After that, we put 1-2 of our seedlings in a container with the hydroton and then placed them in our plant holder! (2/12/14)
We started germinating thyme and cilantro seeds in soils which we will eventually transfer to the hydroton plant cups which will then go into the styrofoam holder. (2/4/14)
After about 2 weeks of adding ammonia and testing the water we are finally seeing nitrites and nitrates! (2/4/14)
After getting our styrofoam to the size and shape we wanted, we ironed it (with a piece of parchment paper between the iron and styrofoam so it wouldn't burn) because it was flaking. The iron slightly melted the styrofoam making a thin coat around it so it wouldn't flake off. (1/31/14)
We sawed the styrofoam in half because it was too thick causing the plant holders to be to far to reach the water. (1/28/14)
We started making a holder that our plants will eventually sit in. We first carved holes into a block of styrofoam to hold the containers that will hold our plants!
(1/22/14)
After fixing a leak, we started adding in ammonia and nitrifying bacteria to change the ammonia to nitrates and nitrates. Each day we test the water to observe our pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. (1/17/14)
Once everything was cleaned again we got the system back to normal! (1/13/14)
After our system was up and running the water started getting really murky. We came to the conclusion that the hydroton was not cleaned enough so we spent a whole class period cleaning it along with all the bins and the pebbles in the fish tank! (1/9/14)
Watch this video of our up and running aquaponics system! (12/18/13)
After setting up our elbow and pipe for the plant bin and rinsing the hydroton for 30 minutes, we were finally ready to add the water! (12/18/13)
We started decorating our system in preparation for the holidays! (12/13/13)
We also added a pipe with an elbow to our bin which will eventually hold the hydroton! (12/13/13)
During Thanksgiving week, we kept preparing the materials with the few days that we had. We hung up our light and cleaned old sealant off of out piping.
After we got into our teams in F-Block, we started taking inventory, dividing up materials, cleaning what we had, and making plans to get what we needed. By Friday, all of the bins and tubing we planned to use was clean!
F-Block:
What is "aquaponics"?
Aquaponics is the method of growing crops and fish in a circular system.
Why aquaponics?
Cycle of chemistry in an aquaponisc system:
Fish poop ammonia (NH3), nitrifying bacteria turn the ammonia into nitrite (NO2-), nitrobacter turn the nitrites into nitrate (NO3-), and the plants absorb the nitrate as food.
How to test the water in an aquaponics system:
The water levels have to be right in the system for the fish and plants to prosper. Here is how to test the system for pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels:
Our short term goals:
Our long term goals:
- Grow a herb garden (basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, mint)
- Bring aquaP to struggling areas
- Bring aquaP to Tiger’s Loft
Power the system with only solar powerMore information about Aquaponics water testing and setup: here